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Governor Sonny Perdue says under his watch Georgia’s government has learned to run smoother and has gotten better at managing its money and assets. Tuesday in the House chambers of the state Capitol, the governor touted the hard work of a special commission he created.

The Commission for a New Georgia was put together soon after Governor Perdue came into office eight years ago. It was made up of private business executives, local officials, and citizens from cities and counties across the state.

Perdue says most of the group’s 130 recommendations have already been implemented. That includes everything from better accounting and customer service practices, to actually having a complete record of the number of vehicles and buildings the state owns.

Perdue told a gathering of commission members and lawmakers at the Capitol that in tough economic times, the work of this group was critical.

"We’re counter-cyclical to business. When our sales are down, our needs and our demand from our customers is up. That’s different from the ways it is for most businesses, and that’s really challenging. When you’ve less revenue, you’ve got more demand for services, and we had to figure out how to do that.”

Co-chair of the committee, Joe Rogers, says the work over time has saved the state $700 million and counting.

“That happened because they started implementing things. The fact that we now know where all the state buildings are, consolidating the airplanes the state had. Identifying the vehicles, and actually reducing the number of vehicles. Practically speaking, anyone can understand how all those costs are saved.”

Rogers says the way Georgia’s government is running now is reflected in the state’s continued AAA bond rating.